


The Forest & The Bow

by zoldeity



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Fluff, M/M, forest nymph kageyama, kageyama is dense and hinata is an idiot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-24 18:54:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17709671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoldeity/pseuds/zoldeity
Summary: Karasuno Village has been taken over by the kingdom of Seijoh.The surrounding forest is being destroyed for expansion without permission from the Gods. Crops will not grow, water runs brown, and people are dying.In an attempt to gather food for him and his sister, Hinata Shouyou breaks curfew and hunting laws. However, what he finds in the forest is more valuable than any sustenance.





	The Forest & The Bow

As the summer sun slowly made its way above the horizon, Shouyou felt it’s warmth cast over his body. Turning on his side, he buried his face into the old woven quilt that laid beside him and sighed. 

Shouyou hated summer. Not particular because of the heat or early mornings (although both didn’t exactly help the season’s case) but because it meant autumn would soon arrive. And soon after that would be winter. It has been predicted by the Psychics to be one of the worst the human world has experienced in decades. With those dreaded six months hastily approaching, Shouyou had to figure out how he would be able to provide for not only himself, but also his little sister, before it was too late. 

With a huff, Shouyou stretched out his limbs and threw himself out of his bed before he gave back into his drowsiness. Tossing his night attire off to the side, Shouyou wrapped a sheet of loose wool around his waist and made his way to the small lake that sat at the edge of his cottage. 

Lake water was not exactly the cleanest thing he could bathe in, but he and his sister didn’t exactly have a choice. Ever since their mother had passed due to a disease unknown almost five years ago, the two of them had barely managed to buy a loaf of bread to last them a week, let alone find a more sanitary place to wash. 

The carrot topped boy, unlike his sister, did not mind using the lake. Shouyou had grown accustomed to the feeling of mud under this toes and the noises of the awakening forest creatures. Honestly, bathing in the soft sunrise in the middle of nature was his favorite part of the day.

The falling of a tree and the screeching of birds quickly wiped it away. 

Karasuno Village had recently begun to expand outwards into the neighboring woods, for reasons Shouyou was unsure of. What he was sure of though, was that it was being done by the order of the Great King. 

Everything was always done by order of the Great King. 

Ever since the expansion had begun, too many trees were being cut at too quickly of a rate for sacrifices to be offered to the Gods. Crops stopped growing. Less and less animals could be seen wandering the fields and the villagers were starving. 

They were being punished for their greed and impatience, he was sure of it. The majority of his people were even sure of it. Yet no one could muster the courage to speak their concerns. For speaking their worries would mean showing distrust in their Great King, a felony punishable by death.

The village wasn’t always like this, surprisingly. 

When he was a child, almost one hundred separate families called Karasuno Village their home. Water wells ran clear, there was never an empty harvest, and there was no questioning of when the next meal would be. 

Even over a decade later, Shouyou still remembers how sunflowers bloomed alongside his cottage. He was seven years old the last time he felt pure happiness. 

. . . 

Jumping on the balls of his feet, Shouyou ran his way over to the garden. Butterflies flew over his head as he twirled and giggled into the morning air. 

“Waaaaahhh!! Mommy the sunlillies are so big now! They’re like ten Natsu’s!”

Chuckling, his mother placed her hands on top of his head. 

“They’re called Sunflowers Shouyou, not sunlillies”. 

Shouyou turned around pouting with his hands balled into fists on his hips. 

“I was close enooouuuggghhh! Hey Mommy?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think I could grow taller than the sunflowers?”

“Sweetie I don’t think that’s humanly possible”. 

“SO THE FLOWERS GET TO BE TEN FEET TALL BUT NOT ME?!”

“Sadly, I’m afraid so”. 

“I WILL NOT ACCEPT IT MOMMY! I WON’T LOSE TO SOME LOUSY PLANTS!”

“Okay, okay. Then maybe if you start eating all your vegetables during meals you’ll grow to be eleven feet tall”.

“Mommy… if that’s the price for being tall I’d rather stay the size I am now forever”. 

Laughter radiated through the village as his mother picked him up and spun, covering his face in small kisses.

. . .

Looking over his shoulder to the now dried up and decaying flower garden, Shouyou’s lips held still in a line.

Shouyou was nine years old the last time he saw the sunflowers bloom. 

Shouyou was ten years old when his mother contracted an unknown illness.

Shouyou was twelve years old when he had to lead the funeral march and show no tears. 

Shouyou was fourteen years old when knights dressed in glistening white and teal armor walked into the village with knives drawn and claimed it for the kingdom of Seijoh. 

Shouyou was sixteen years old when he first cursed the Great King in his mind. 

And three years later, at age nineteen, he finally managed to whisper a broken “Fuck you, Tooru-sama” aloud. 

When five heartbeats passed and he felt no sword pressed against his throat or rough hands over his wrists, Shouyou gave a chuckle.

Turning back to the lake, Shouyou lowered his small hands under the surface. Splashing the warm water over his face, he sighed. He is absolutely terrified of a man he has never seen. For all he knows, there is no Great King Tooru. All these knights could just be spouting bullshit instead of decrees and he would be none the wiser. Whether or not there even was a “Great King”, it’s not as if it would change anything. 

The people of Karasuno are small in numbers now and are nothing but barren stone compared to the fully bloomed field of Seijoh. The palace had the army, the weapons, the armor, the food, the clean water. 

Everything that the village lacked. 

Of course Shouyou has thought of a rebellion against the crown. Basically everyone under the tyrantic rule of Seijoh has fucking thought of it. Unless you kiss the knight’s asses (figuratively and sometimes literally) you have to get by on scraps and hope the tinted well water wouldn’t leave you with uncontrollable diarrhea for a week. 

In short: life under the crown is absolute hell on Earth.

Where do they get off? Shouyou thinks to himself, Why are they prancing around like they’re gods? If our Gods were to see how they were acting they would be killed on the spot… why haven’t they?

He pushed the thought from his mind. He could not lose his faith in his Gods. He could not afford to lose faith in his Gods. Without them, how can he know for sure that his mother is resting peacefully? Slapping his cheeks hard enough to scare off any surrounding animals, Shouyou cursed himself. 

He finished up bathing before he could let his mind wander any farther. 

After walking back to his cottage, he was greeted with the sight of Natsu crying. She stood before an open, empty, bread box as tears slowly slid down her cheeks. 

“Natsu?” His younger sister jumped at the sound of his voice and quickly brought her hands up to wipe her face. 

“Oh! Hey brother, I didn’t hear you come in”. Her words were as shaky as her body and Shouyou physically felt his heart crack. 

“Natsu...why were you cry-

“I wasn’t! I wasn’t crying! Some dust just flew into my eyes!” Shouyou watched as a weak smile made its way across his sister’s face.It was a lie and they both knew it. 

“We’re out of food again, aren’t we.” It was more a statement than a question. For the past few days the two of them had been getting by on tea and stale bread slices. Shouyou knew they were going to run out before the next market and cursed himself for not preparing. 

Markets took place every Monday at noon, and only then. He prayed that a storm would not pass over the village and push the market back another week. There was nothing left for the two of them to get by on. They would be starving for over a week. Again. It seemed like the prices only rose with each Market and necessities were becoming impossible to afford. 

There used to be Markets every two to three days. People of the village would gather outside their homes and see what their neighbors had found or created. Prices were reasonable and discounts were common. For the Hinata siblings, they were mostly given goods for free unless Shouyou insisted on paying at least half price. After the passing of their mother, the other mothers in the village took it as their duty to help in whatever way they were able.

The village was a family. 

And then the Seijoh knights arrived on white clydesdales everything went to shit. 

Turning his attention to the bread box, the brother heard himself sigh. It’s not even like he could go into the forest and hunt on his own. Ever since Seijoh had claimed Karasuno Village, any hunting trips into the forest had to be approved by the Knights on duty at the time. No villager could venture in on their own and had to be partnered with at least two knights. Out of any meat caught or berries gathered, over half of it had to go to the Palace. You’d be lucky to go home with a rabbit’s foot and three strawberries. 

In short: it was useless. 

Shouyou cursed the Great King aloud for the second time.

 

Evening came earlier than Shouyou was ready for. As weak and silly as it may seem, this nineteen year old boy was scared of the dark. And no, he wasn’t scared of what exactly lurked in the blackness around him. 

Hinata Shouyou was simply scared of the dark because it made him think about death. It made him think about how death plunged it’s skeletal hands into his mother’s chest and ripped out her soul before he could say goodbye. It made him think about what truly lied in wait for him in the afterlife, if there even was one. It made him think about if the darkness that covered him as he slept was all he would ever see. 

Hinata Shouyou was scared of death. 

Not once has he ever told someone of his midnight thoughts or how they affected him even after the sun rose. He kept all unknown questions and worries and night terrors locked up in a vault and threw away the key. 

Once, his best friend, Yachi Hitoka, almost got him to open up before they were interrupted by her mother. She asked if Shouyou would stay for dinner, just this once so she knew he was eating, but he declined like always. If his little sister would have to go another night without food, so would he. 

Yet, in this time when Shouyou was supposed to be asleep, his mind played over numerous different scenarios. Some involved the Great King dying and his village becoming free of tyranny. These always made him smirk. Some involved memories of a time lost with sunflowers and healthy mothers and laughter. These always made him cry. Some involved his first love, Kenma Kozume, who he only knew for a year when he was seventeen. He thought of the butterflies when he first arrived, the firsts that became lasts, and the tears when his family discovered the truth and took him away. These always made him sob until he could no longer breathe. 

The final scenarios always involved rebellion. He imagined the Gods offering their support to take down the Kingdom and bring life and hope back to Karasuno. These always made him beam with happiness. 

Tonight, however, all he could think about was the latter. 

Shouyou was tired of seeing his sister cry. He was tired of being forced to eat bread hard as stone. He was tired of drinking water tinted brown. 

Shouyou was tired of being controlled. 

Before his mind could process his actions, Shouyou’s body was sliding out of bed. He pulled out his brown tattered joggers from the bottom of a forgotten drawer and partnered it with a woven poncho. His feet remained bare and cold against the wooden floors as he walked towards the rear door. Stopping at squeaking board beneath his toes, Shouyou pulled up on the hidden door. 

Reaching inside, his fingers wrapped around the neck of a bow gifted by a father unknown. He gripped the weapon tight to his side as he carefully swung a small pack of arrows over his shoulder. 

Hinata Shouyou was going hunting in the dead of night. 

He cursed the Great King aloud for the third time. 

 

Shouyou had felt fear before. He lived in it for the year leading up to his mother’s death. 

But this was a sensation he could not even begin to describe. 

Shouyou could barely hear his own breathing over the beating of his heart in his ears. His body was coated from goosebumps from head to toe that hurt to touch. His bare feet moved agonizingly slow with caution, careful to not step on a twig and alert any nearby guards. It felt as though a hour had passed before Shouyou even reached his back gate. 

First problem. 

The gate squeaked when opened. It would tear right through the silence of the night and possibly cause an investigation. Shouyou could be found out past curfew, with an unauthorized weapon, and heading to the forest without permission. He would be be-headed before dawn broke the horizon. He had heard of the myth that after your head is cut off, your brain still remains conscious for a few seconds. If your eyes were kept open, the last thing you ever saw could be your headless body. 

Shouyou resisted the urge to vomit. 

Solution: he could hop over the gate. 

However, Shouyou does not know if there is anything directly behind the gate that he could potentially hurt himself by landing on. He does not know if there is a sleeping animal, a twig, or even sharp stones that could make any type of noise to give away his location. Shouyou also would have to gamble the risk that he would land on his feet and not sprain an ankle. There would be no point going into the forest to hunt if he couldn’t fucking walk. 

It’s only the first problem and Shouyou’s mind is already racing with terrible outcomes, and he hasn’t even left his property yet. This was a mistake. He was a fool to believe he had any type of courage to go against the law. His actions would not only hurt himself but what about his sister? What about Yachi? He couldn’t have them suffer from his decisions. He shouldn’t be go through with this. 

No. 

That is exactly why I should go through with this. 

Shouyou place his hands on top of the wooden gate and leaped. 

And landed. 

On his feet. 

With no sprained ankles and no broken sticks. 

He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until he sighed from relief. 

With the first problem done and solved, Shouyou prayed to the Gods that the rest of this adventure would go smoothly. Each hoot of an owl or the side dash of a fox took five years off of his lifespan. The boy clutched his bow to his chest as he tiptoed behind cottages and bushes on his way to the forest. 

When the large trees finally came into his field of vision, Shouyou’s breath caught in his throat. He had only ever been in this forest once and had no idea how to navigate it. As soon as he went past the first tree it would be all new territory that he would have to find his way through.

In the dark. 

With bare feet. 

When a knight could appear at any moment. 

Fuck.

The last, and only, time he went into the woods was almost a decade ago with Noya and Ryuu. Before Shouyou met and became close to Yachi, Noya and Ryuu were his best friends by default. The only other kid his age in the village was Tsukishima and they didn’t exactly get along. Tsukishima was tall and smart where Shouyou was short and stupid. Not the best combination. 

The two elder children wanted to show Shouyou this cool cave they had found to be their secret hideout. They had discovered it in the early morning the day before and had not shut up about it since. Shouyou remembers wondering how it could be a secret if they told the entire village. The three wandered around for hours before realizing that they were hopelessly lost and began to cry. Noya attempted to raise their spirits. 

… 

Tripping on a small pebble, Noya dramatically fell towards the ground and held his small foot in his even tinier hands. 

“RYUU… SHOUYOU…. PLEASE TELL MY FAMILY I LOVE THEM…. WHEN YOU GUYS GET OUT TELL MY STORY… DON’T FORGET ABOUT ME….”

“Dude, you literally just stubbed your toe get up.”

“Yeah! You’re not gonna die Noya-san!”

“UGH… I DON’T KNOW ANYMORE… MY FEET… I FEAR THEY ARE BROKEN…I CAN NO LONGER WALK...”

“What do you mean broken?! Noya-san!!”

“Shouyou he’s just being a dumbass.”

“Dumbass?”

“Yes. A dumbass.”

“Noya-san, you’re a dumbass.”

“HEY!”

Their roaring laughter allowed their mothers to find them only ten feet away from the entrance. 

… 

For the first time that night, Shouyou smiled. He would have to thank Noya and Ryuu the next time he saw them. 

Exhaling, the shaking boy jumped through the trees. 

It was just as massive as he remembers, only more terrifying. Trees that once towered over him and shielded the sun’s rays from his face were now fallen and barren of leaves. The birds that flew around his head and chirped in his ear were replaced by bats and hisses. Wherever Shouyou turned, he could see different eyes of red and yellow that reflected off the moonlight. 

The animals knew he was here. 

And they did not welcome him. 

Shouyou was petrified, but he understood. The creatures of the forest had no reason to trust humans anymore, not after what the Kingdom has begun. Their home was being torn apart right before their eyes and they could do nothing but watch and cry. 

Shouyou’s rage mimicked theirs. Both hating the Kingdom for destroying their homes and taking the lives of their family. Both despising the dictatorship of the Great King and his Knights. 

With a nod towards the eyes to his left, Shouyou took his first step deeper into the forest. The grass and moss were moist against his feet as he hopelessly maneuvered himself, using the remaining trees as support and guidance. Roughly twenty heart beats had passed before Shouyou realized that he had encountered the second problem. 

He was being followed. 

The woods had gone quiet as he further lost himself in the trees. No owls, no eyes, no bats, no nothing. All Shouyou was able to hear was his own heartbeat, staggered breathing, and footsteps that mimicked his own behind him. 

It had to be in his head. It had to be. Yet he was too scared to turn around to see. He could only force himself to keep walking with his head straight and try not to break. Shouyou had to be cautious, now more than ever. He could not afford to just pass off the sounds as an illusion. If this was a Knight, he was fucked. No hood covered his head and even in the darkness it was impossible to miss the fire of orange hair. If they didn’t catch him and kill him now, he and probably his sister as well will be dead by tomorrow evening. 

Shouyou felt the tears fall onto the tops of his feet before he felt them on his face. If he gave in now, allowed himself to be captured and killed, his sister had a better chance of being safe. She could be taken in by Yachi’s family and be well fed and dressed for the first time in years. Natsu would be okay. 

But she would be not only an orphan, but now the last of the bloodline. 

Solution: Shouyou has to fight. 

If he fights back and somehow fucking wins against a Knight of the kingdom then he can go back to the cottage and act like nothing ever happened. Maybe he could find a few berries to give as a small breakfast to Natsu. He was short and scrawny and starving, but fighting and winning is his only option if he wants to survive and protect his sister. 

Moving the bow out from his chest, Shouyou shakenly plucked a lone arrow from the basket and struggled to place it in its rightful spot. As he raised his weapon in front of his torso, he quickly turned his body to face whoever was trailing him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn he saw a dash of white before he was flipped upside down. 

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

In the few moments Shouyou had averted his gaze from the forest floor, he had manage to step directly into an old rabbit trap. He was now stuck, hanging upside down by his ankle. 

In the middle of the dark and horrific forest. 

With the eyes now back and glaring at him. 

And someone still possibly trailing him. 

Fuck. 

Third problem. 

Hinata Shouyou was now stuck in a rabbit trap, with no way out. He had dropped his bow in the sudden jolt and now not only looked like an idiot, but was also a defenseless idiot. 

Ah. Now I’ve done it. 

The only thing worse that could happen would be death and he had accepted it now. 

Solution: none. 

Shouyou had become so lost in his own self pity that he didn’t notice the rush of wind that passed over his body. 

Or the knife that had now been placed across his throat. 

And how he was now staring into eyes as deep and beautiful as the night sky. 

“Give me a reason to not slit you open right this second!” 

The voice was deep and hissed out like a curse. It set every hair on Shouyou’s body upright and if he wasn’t hanging upside down, he swears his heart would have fell out of his ass. 

“I give you a chance to save yourself and you don’t even take it!” 

The knife pressed closer to Shouyou’s skin and he felt blood trail onto his lips.

“Mortals are such fucking idiots.” The knife lowered. 

The eyes became a face that became a full body that glowed in the moonlight. The man was basically shirtless, only wearing a thin, white, silk robe that crossed over his right shoulder and connected with a skirt of the same material. He too was barefoot, but his ankles and shins were wrapped in the most beautiful golden jewelry Shouyou had ever seen. As his eyes went back up his body, he noticed that the man had dark black hair that hung loosely between his eyes. A headband of the same material that wrapped his legs seemed to float above him. He was beautiful. More beautiful than any man- no, any human Shouyou had ever seen in his entire life. 

And he was about to get killed by him. 

What a way to go. 

“Holy shit...” Shouyou’s voice came out strained and light. It would have been inaudible if it wasn’t for the dead silence of the forest. The man decreased the distance between them once more as he raised his knife back to its original position. 

“Finally figured out what you were going to say, dumbass?” The stranger’s eyes were harsh and demanding as they glared into Shouyou’s. He was furious at him for something unknown. 

Five heartbeats passed before he spoke. 

“You’re beautiful.”

Five more heartbeats passed before his world went black.

Fourth problem.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading the first installment of my first ever chaptered fic!! This was so much fun to write and it will only get more wild from here on out so stick around!!
> 
> twitter @zoldeity


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